Computers are being used more and more to retain various types of information in electronic form. For example, computers can be used to store word processing documents, spreadsheets, correspondence (e.g., electronic mail and facsimile), contact information, calendars, instant messages, and the like.
In a conventional computer system, information is stored in one or more files maintained by a file system component of the computer system. A user can input a file name to retrieve the file (e.g., a file containing a word processing document) from the file system. However, many times a user cannot remember the file name, or even the context in which a file was used, for example Some software applications provide a listing of a limited number of the most recent files opened by the application in a listing when a user elects to open a file, in order to provide a shortcut for use in opening a file within the software application. If the file does not appear in this list, however, the user must use other means for identifying the file. For example, if the user remembers a portion of the file's name used to save the file, the user can search the file system to locate the file. A file system browse feature is typically available to the user from within a file open dialog screen, which allows the user to traverse the file system to locate the file. Alternatively, a user can use a search tool that resides on the user's “desktop”. For example, Microsoft Windows® has a search tool, which allows the user to search based on a file's attributes, such as name, contents, location, modification date, data type. Once the file is located, it can be displayed for the user to select. Other search tools are available, such as the Desktop Search tool from Yahoo!®.